Hair Loss Solutions
From temporary concealers to permanent treatments — an honest guide to every option for covering a bald patch, including why SMP is the only truly zero-maintenance solution. From £250 at ScalpLiners, Whitstable.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already been through the cycle. You noticed it first in the mirror — a patch on the crown, maybe a spot where the light catches your scalp just a little too clearly. Then came the experimenting. The Toppik fibres that looked fine at home but made you anxious every time the wind picked up. The concealer sprays that left dark marks on your pillow. The hats you wore long past summer. The elaborate morning routine to style what hair you had left across the gap.
It’s exhausting. And none of it actually solves anything — it just gives you something new to worry about.
This guide walks through every option for covering a bald patch — from the quick fixes to the genuinely permanent — so you can make an informed decision about what’s right for you.
These products are popular because they’re accessible, cheap and available from any high street or supermarket. But they all share the same fundamental problem: they run out, wash off, or fail you at the worst possible moment.
Hair Fibres (Toppik etc.)
Concealer Sprays
Hats are the bluntest tool of all — effective but limiting. You can’t wear a hat to a job interview, on a date, or in a gym pool. The bald patch isn’t hidden, it’s just postponed.
A step up from concealers, these approaches buy more time but still don’t offer a true permanent result.
A topical treatment applied twice daily to the scalp. Minoxidil can slow hair loss and in some cases stimulate modest regrowth. However, it doesn’t work for everyone, takes 3–6 months to show any effect, and requires indefinite daily use — if you stop, any gains are lost within months. For a bald patch on the crown it has limited effectiveness, particularly if the follicles are already dormant.
An oral medication that blocks DHT — the hormone primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. It can be effective at slowing hair loss and in some cases prompts some regrowth. Like minoxidil, it must be taken daily forever for results to be maintained. It also carries a documented risk of sexual side effects which puts many men off long-term use.
PRP involves drawing your own blood, processing it to concentrate the growth factors, and injecting it into the scalp. Some studies show modest results for early-stage thinning. It does not regrow hair on a fully bald patch, requires multiple sessions, and results are not guaranteed. Cost: typically £400–£800 per session.
A hair transplant moves follicles from the back and sides of the scalp (the donor area) to the thinning or bald area. Results, when performed well, can look natural. But the limitations are significant:
For a single bald patch on the crown, a transplant can work — but the cost, recovery time and risk of further loss around the treated area makes many men think twice.
Scalp micropigmentation (SMP) is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that uses ultra-fine needles to deposit specialist pigment into the scalp, replicating the appearance of closely cropped hair follicles. On a bald patch, the result is a natural-looking, dense appearance of short stubble — indistinguishable from a freshly shaved head or a natural hairline.
There is no daily routine. No products. No anxiety about rain or wind. No annual prescription. You wake up looking the same every day.
"I went through the Toppik phase. I went through the hats phase. I spent years worrying about my crown every single morning before I left the house. After my SMP I genuinely stopped thinking about it. That’s the part nobody talks about — the mental weight that just disappears." — Mark Terrell, ScalpLiners
The crown is one of the most common areas men seek to treat — and one of the areas SMP performs best. Because the crown is viewed from above rather than head-on, the pigmentation blends naturally with any surrounding hair. The treatment creates a seamless transition from remaining hair into the treated area, so even a complete crown bald patch can be covered to look entirely convincing.
The pigment is matched carefully to your natural hair colour and the existing follicle pattern is used as a reference for placement angle and density. Most clients complete treatment across 3 sessions spaced 10–14 days apart. Results are visible from session one.
At ScalpLiners, covering a bald patch starts from £250. This includes all 3 sessions and a 12-month guarantee. For comparison, a year’s supply of Toppik costs around £150–180 and does nothing permanent. The return on investment with SMP — measured in time, confidence and money saved — is significant.
The practical argument for SMP is clear. But the most important factor for most clients isn’t the money or even the maintenance — it’s the confidence that comes from not having to manage, disguise or worry about a bald patch every day.
Men who have had SMP consistently report that the change isn’t just cosmetic. They feel more comfortable in social situations, more confident at work, less preoccupied at the gym or on the beach. When you’re not spending mental energy on concealment, you get that energy back for everything else.
Mark experienced this himself. He had SMP before he ever trained as a practitioner — because it worked. That firsthand experience is why he talks about it honestly and why clients trust his advice from the very first consultation.
SMP works at any stage of hair loss — whether you have a small patch beginning to show or a significant area of baldness on the crown. It works equally well if your bald patch is getting bigger, because the treated area can always be extended in a future top-up session. There is no donor hair limitation, no recovery period, and no ongoing medication.
The free consultation at ScalpLiners takes around 30 minutes. Mark will look at your scalp, discuss your goals, show you real before and after results from clients with similar hair loss, and give you an honest assessment of what SMP can achieve for you — with no pressure to book.
Common Questions
Stop Hiding, Start Living
Mark has been through it himself. Book a free WhatsApp consultation to see real results, get honest answers and find out what SMP can do for your bald patch — from £250 including 3 sessions.